


it takes all the running you can do (to stay in the same spot)

by Dontfloatthe100



Category: The Pinkertons (TV)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 20:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8815210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dontfloatthe100/pseuds/Dontfloatthe100
Summary: No one ever stayed long in Kansas City.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Guys did you see that the Pinkertons tag was moved from uncategorized fandoms to TV I am a proud mama! And now two other people have written fics!!! This fandom is growing slowly but surely. Thank you guys for the support on my last fics, it means so much. I wrote this fic at like 3 am so I'm sorry in advance for basically all of it lmao. 
> 
> Best,  
> Em

No one ever stayed long in Kansas City. 

It was the unwritten rule that everyone knew. You arrived in town, took care of business, and left. Some stayed a little longer, even made something of a life for themselves, but they always left in good time. This rule was not lost on Kate Warne.

At first, Kansas City was just a stop on the way to Chicago. Kate had fought for her nation in the only way she could. The Union, the late president, the entire nation owed her a debt of gratitude. Kate knew that. Sometimes, when she was feeling particularly proud, she relished in it. Although she knew her work was never done, and she would go insane if it ever was, she wasn't a spy anymore. The country was in an era of tentative peace. It was time for her to move on.

Allan mentioned Chicago. A shining city, a city of progression and industry, and, like most large cities, a city of crime. Kate would feel right at home there. There, she could have a quieter life. She could solve crimes, help people, run the female division. 

Kate didn't intend to stay in Kansas City. 

Her first week in Kansas City passed in a whirlwind. Allan, the bushwackers, and the infuriating yet intriguing Will Pinkerton. It wasn't until the end of that week when she learned that she would be staying in Kansas City a little longer than originally planned. And worst of all, Will would be staying with her. Kate Warne became a small-town girl and a babysitter all at once. 

Kate was not a jealous person, but she found herself envious of her clients, who were mostly visitors just stopping in. She longed to travel with the acting troup or the supernatural side show or the soldiers or the group of nurses just passing through. Sometimes she found herself staring at the train station, imagining herself getting on one of those trains and leaving the city, heading to Chicago. She was sure she would have no problem leaving Will behind, arrogant and inexperienced as he was.

But as time went on, Kate could admit, she no longer needed to help Will as much with the cases. He was growing, becoming more confident and knowledgeable with each passing day. Kate was proud, as both a friend (when had he become her friend?) and a partner. She had been in Kansas City for months, with no sign of leaving.

To her surprise, Kate wasn't so adverse to the idea. 

And then Will got shot. And she felt herself shattering into a million pieces and she was so terrified of losing him. This little corner of Earth that they had cut out, this life that they had built together, it was all crashing down around them. She wanted to stay, she wanted him to stay. Never in her life had she wanted to stay in one place more than she did at that moment.

By pure luck and a bad aim, Will survived. 

And Kate realized that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't mind staying in Kansas City for a while. She hadn't stared at the train station in months. She was no longer jealous of her clients. She was happy there. She was content. While her back was turned, she had grown roots in this city. She realized how much it would hurt her to leave John and Kenji and Annalee and Miyo. And Will, what would become of him if they went their separate ways? Will just got shot, and he needed help. He was her partner, her friend, her family. Kate would never abandon her family. She had to stay, at least for a little while longer. 

A little while turned into another year. It was now her second year in Kansas City. Kate was an old-timer, a veteran.

Things between her and Will had progressed over time, as things often do. It was hard to let go of the fear, the apprehension, but just as the seasons change, so too did they. When something is staring at you in the face, it's hard to ignore it. When the lingering looks and touches, the warmth and comfort, became unbearable, they adjusted. 

And when Kate found herself sitting in her landlord's living room, drinking a cup of tea and haggling over prices for her house, Kate couldn't say she was surprised. When she told Will over drinks that she had bought the house, he didn't look surprised either. When she asked Allan over telegram to be permanently settled in Kansas City, he told her that he was sure she would have asked sooner. When she and Will told Annalee that Will would be moving out of the Dubois, Annalee gave them both hugs and kisses on the cheeks and told them that drinks were on the house for the night. When they informed Kenji and John of the changes, the two exchanged knowing looks and offered congratulations. 

It didn't take long for them to move Will's things into her house, but it took even less time for the rumors about them to spread. Kate and Will always enjoyed them, smirking knowing at each other as they overheard conversations at the other end of the bar. But Will, competitive and driven as ever, was determined to prove them wrong. So with a metal ring burning a hole in his pocket, Will asked Kate the question that, almost ten years ago, she had never wanted to hear again. Kate accepted immediately, to no one's surprise.

Katherine Warne and William Pinkerton were married on January 12, 1870 in a small ceremony attended only by friends and family. And as Kate stood in front of Will and their small group of friends, Kate realized that she was never leaving Kansas City. And when Kate looked up at Will's smiling face and felt the cold, familiar weight of a ring on her finger, Kate couldn't find it in herself to care.

So yes, the rule still stood. No one stayed in Kansas City for long. But Kate Warne? Well she had never been one for rules anyways.


End file.
